June is in full bloom in the Triangle!

June is in full bloom! While you’re planning out your summer trips to Asheville and the Outer Banks, don’t forget to take advantage of all the local fun going on right here in the Triangle. If you thought our spring festival season was something to celebrate, you’ll be wowed by what our summer season has in store! June brings even more of our three favorite things: dance, food, and music.

Put your dancing shoes on because Durham’s annual American Dance Festival is in town through the end of July. Called “the world’s greatest dance festival” by the New York Post, the American Dance Festival(ADF) brings modern dance to Durham every summer with performances this year from Shen Wei Dance Arts, Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. The festival features over two dozen dance companies and hundreds of choreographers, writers, and students participating in classes, seminars, and performances.

Another annual celebration locals look forward to this time of year is the NC Juneteenth Celebration, and there’s no better place to celebrate than Durham! Here’s a little-known reason why you should celebrate this holiday in Durham: everyone knows confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, but few people realize his defeat didn’t actually end the Civil War. Lee ceded his army but the war’s most significant troop surrender happened two weeks later at our very own Bennett Place! Celebrate Juneteenth and the all-day event this Saturday in downtown Durham with live music, food and merchandise vendors, a health fair, kids zone, exhibitors, and more.

Durham Central Park will also be a hot spot this weekend with the third annual Triangle Community Band Festival on Saturday. This event will feature performances from The Cary Town Band, Durham Community Concert Band, Holly Springs Community Band, Raleigh Concert Band, and the Village Band, as well as food and drinks from local food trucks!

Festival season continues with the North Carolina Hip Hop Festival in Downtown Durham June 22-24. Catch internationally known and up-and-coming hip-hop artists for indoor and outdoor performances, demonstrations, music production seminars, and educational panels.

While you’re out enjoying all the festivities the Bull City is bringing this month, don’t miss the hottest new way to cool off at Durham’s first dog-focused bar, Barley Labs! This beer-grain dog treat business offers a welcoming atmosphere for the four-legged, as well as good times and libations for the two-legged! Other new spots to try out include County Fare, a full-service beer garden with indoor/outdoor dining, acclaimed food trucks, and games, and The Glass Jug Beer Lab, RTP’s new microbrewery and one-stop bar and retail space for all things frothy and delicious!

Over in Raleigh, it’s a beautiful time of year to enjoy the arts! Check out the local legend, Ira David Wood III’s latest Theatre In the Park production, It Shoulda Been You. Showtimes begin this Friday and run through July 1st. Touted as a 90-minute laugh-riot, this new musical tells the story of a hilarious and charming wedding day you’ll never forget. Raleighites will also be excited to know that Lake Street Dive will perform at the North Carolina Museum of Art tomorrow evening, and the Arctic Monkeys will play Red Hat Amphitheatre this Saturday.

There’s plenty to do and summer here and gone in no time fast, so get out there and explore all that our incredible community has to offer! We love what the Triangle has to offer, so it’s always a treat to show home buyers, newcomers, and even current residents around our favorite neighborhoods and letting them know about local happening events.